Re: Improved Elevated Terminal

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Malcolm Watts" <m.j.watts@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Gary,
         Thanks for posting the pics. I've never seen that before....

On 7 Sep 2005, at 18:46, Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: "Gary Peterson" <gary@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> To the List:
>
> Does anyone have practical experience with the type of topload that
> Tesla disclosed in his circa 1936 paper " New Art of Projecting
> Concentrated Non-Dispersive Energy Through Natural Media" used in
> conjunction with a tesla coil?  Drawings of the terminal and an
> individual attachment can be viewed at
> http://www.teslaradio.com/images/image006.jpg and
> http://www.teslaradio.com/images/image008.jpg
>
> The terminal consists of a spherical metal frame studded with an array
> of glass tubes each containing an electrode of thin sheet metal
> suitably rounded, and exhausted to a high vacuum.  The tubes shown in
> the drawings would have an overall height of about three feet.  He
> claimed this type of terminal could be raised to a potential of 100
> million volts without discharging.  I'm wondering how a single tube of
> this type would perform.

I wonder too. What an interesting attempt to prevent 100MV
discharges. I suspect the attempt is doomed to failure as at those
voltages, the ROC of anything else even remotely nearby becomes
significant even if the ROC of the terminal is theoretically large
enough. A single tube would behave like a Crookes Tube wouldn't it? I
don't remember whether they have a fluorescent screen or not.

Malcolm

> Gary Peterson
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